Phenom Incompatable with 780G

[Phynaz]

Cnet.

 

[srp49ers]

its not incompatible with the chipset. Its that some of the motherboards are incompatible

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: srp49ers
its not incompatible with the chipset. Its that some of the motherboards are incompatible

AMD confirmed Monday that high-end quad-core Phenom processors have compatibility problems with some motherboards due to a mismatch with the chipset. (The motherboard is the main circuit board in a PC. The chipset allows the processor to interact with other components, among other functions.)

"What people have done, mistakenly, is paired a 780G (chipset-based) motherboard with the higher frequency Phenom--the 125-watt Phenom," said Jake Whitman, an AMD spokesperson.

You can say it that way, but clearly AMD is fingering the chipset as being the issue with the motherboard.

They don't say "due to poorly designed motherboards"...they say "due to a mismatch with the chipset".

Either way its pointless to debate where on the mobo the issue lies...this is no less a snafu for AMD than the "i680/i780 doesn't support yorkfield, err we mean the chipset is compatible but the motherboards are at fault..." was a snafu for Nvidia.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

OP, did you actually read the article? 95W TDP Phenoms work just fine. Also, some 780G-based mobos (such as the Biostar T-Force version) handle the 125W TDP Phenoms OK.

I'm guessing that there was a "miscommunication" between AMD and the mobo mfr's as to the reference specs.

EDIT: I completely agree with v8envy's comments. BTW, I have a 9500 on a Gigabyte 780G running no problem. The 1st Gigabyte 780G mobo I had was sent back due to corrupted graphics.

 

[v8envy]

It's *more* of a snafu, really. The i680/i780 was a high priced enthusiast chipset which only a relatively small number of knowledgeable enthusiasts bought. The 780G + phenom = boom is a far more visible problem because both are low priced mainstream products. It was possible for vendors to cope with a small number of enthusiasts having problems -- a huge amount of blown 780G motherboards flying back to manufacturers is going to put a burden on retailers, manufacturers and ultimately put more strain on relation of those parties with AMD.

If you were an etailer catering to the DIY crowd, would you be enthusiastic re: stocking 780G boards knowing your support costs on those tiny margin value SKUs could be higher than all your other products put together? Didn't think so. You'd be tripping all over yourself to put giant warnings saying "NOT COMPATIBLE WITH ALL PHENOMS" up on your site, bouncing as many back to your supplier as you could, and steering users to other products.

Because the 'enthusiast' quad core is priced only a few dollars higher than the 'budget' quad core, lots of AMD customers went with the cheapest motherboard they can find paried with the 'high end' CPU. Heck, even Anandtech did that until they realized there was a problem. I hate how the AMD spokesdrone is making it sound like the the problem is between the keyboard and chair (user error), but hey. Spin is what's called for at this point.

 

[bryanW1995]

I'm just glad to see that amd has finally gotten something right [/sarcasm]

 

[Phynaz]

Originally posted by: v8envy
780G + phenom = boom

Wow, I think I have a new sig.

With your permission of course!

 

[taltamir]

the PR guys who are trying to give it a non harmful spin are pointing the finger INCORRECTLY at the 780G chipset. That is because they are ignorant of the situation.

The problem is that the 780G chipset it CHEAP. So most motherboards with it use a cheap 3 phase or 4 phase power circuit (but there ARE 5 phase 780G motherboards that work with ANY x2 or phenom CPU).

The 125watt cpus, both phenom AND X2 require 5 phase minimum! The 125watt X2 ALSO blow out those motherboards!
The 90watt cpus require 4 phase.
and the 65 watt CPUs require 3 phase.

There are phenoms AND X2 at each of these power levels. If you place a more power hungry CPU, OR you overclock, the motherboard dies.

Higher end motherboards have 6+ power phases, to allow for the hungriest of CPUs with a high overclock.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: taltamir
the PR guys who are trying to give it a non harmful spin are pointing the finger INCORRECTLY at the 780G chipset. That is because they are ignorant of the situation.

The problem is that the 780G chipset it CHEAP. So most motherboards with it use a cheap 3 phase or 4 phase power circuit (but there ARE 5 phase 780G motherboards that work with ANY x2 or phenom CPU).

The 125watt cpus, both phenom AND X2 require 5 phase minimum! The 125watt X2 ALSO blow out those motherboards!
The 90watt cpus require 4 phase.
and the 65 watt CPUs require 3 phase.

There are phenoms AND X2 at each of these power levels. If you place a more power hungry CPU, OR you overclock, the motherboard dies.

Higher end motherboards have 6+ power phases, to allow for the hungriest of CPUs with a high overclock.

Given how your post (which is great btw) is peppered with references to power hungry chips...I can see why the AMD PR folks elected to spin this as mismatched chipset rather than power monster chips.

Lesser of the two evils when you look at the ASP's of Phenom versus ATi chipsets. If I were going to take a PR hit I'd deflect it to the lesser critical part of my business too.

 

[Phynaz]

I doubt the AMD PR people are ignorant.

You can bet any statements they make go are very carefully crafted, and go through many levels of approvals before they are made to the media.

 

[Aluvus]

Originally posted by: taltamir
the PR guys who are trying to give it a non harmful spin are pointing the finger INCORRECTLY at the 780G chipset. That is because they are ignorant of the situation.

The problem is that the 780G chipset it CHEAP. So most motherboards with it use a cheap 3 phase or 4 phase power circuit (but there ARE 5 phase 780G motherboards that work with ANY x2 or phenom CPU).

The 125watt cpus, both phenom AND X2 require 5 phase minimum! The 125watt X2 ALSO blow out those motherboards!
The 90watt cpus require 4 phase.
and the 65 watt CPUs require 3 phase.

There are phenoms AND X2 at each of these power levels. If you place a more power hungry CPU, OR you overclock, the motherboard dies.

Higher end motherboards have 6+ power phases, to allow for the hungriest of CPUs with a high overclock.

More on this, from earlier this month.

 

[Vesku]

"What people have done, mistakenly, is paired a 780G (chipset-based) motherboard with the higher frequency Phenom--the 125-watt Phenom," said Jake Whitman, an AMD spokesperson.

"They've taken an enthusiast-class quad-core part and paired it with a mainstream motherboard," Whitman said. "And not all motherboard manufacturers have tweaked their boards to support a 125-watt TDP."

Did anyone actually read the article? The PR guy says it right there, 780G motherboard + 125W cpu. He even makes a reference to the idea that some 780G motherboards can handle it "not all".

Someday people will use the full power of their minds in a logical manner, someday.